Frome’s dog mess campaign ‘picks up’

A campaign by Frome Town Council has seen chalk stencils added to footpaths around Frome’s green spaces, reminding dog owners to clean up dog mess when out walking.  

The campaign is spearheaded by Frome resident and volunteer with the ranger team, Julian Quayle, who asked the town council to join him in a renewed effort to tackle the problem in June. 

Cllr Anita Collier said, “It’s good to hear that many residents are getting involved with the campaign, to encourage people to pick up after their dogs and make Frome a more pleasant and safe place to be for everyone. The problem isn’t unique to Frome, of course; it’s an issue everywhere and it would be much worse if it weren’t for the fact that most dog owners do the right thing.  

“I am confident that Frome has the community spirit to make a difference to the problem of dog mess here and I hope people will continue to engage with the campaign this summer.” 

Julian Quayle said, “I think the majority of people are responsible dog owners but you get some people who are being inattentive. You quite often see a dog 100 yards from its owner and that is possibly when the dog does its mess and the owner has not noticed. It is a minority but it’s still a problem.” 

The UK has an estimated 13 million dogs (PDSA, 2023) with the potential to create 1,000 tonnes of dog mess each day. Leaving dog mess on the street is illegal and can attract fines starting from £100.